BOISE — Crews are finally building on the empty Hillcrest Shopping Center pad. After nearly 18 years as a vacant lot, Hillcrest Apartments is under construction at the corner of Phillipi Street and Overland Road.

BoiseDev reported the update on September 22, 2026, with photos of active work on the 4.13-acre site in the shopping center parking lot — the pad where a large former box store once stood. A slow-developing project last covered in depth in 2022 is now going up.

The empty lot used to house part of the Hillcrest Shopping Center, including a former Fred Meyer and several smaller retail shops. Those buildings were torn down in late 2009. Over the years, demolished storefronts on that portion of the center also included names like Brookovers, Honk’s $0.99 store, Grand Central, and Welles Department Store. The pad sat empty while several apartment plans came and went.

Affordable housing with state bond support

In 2022, Irvine, California-based Red Tail Acquisitions applied to build a 108-unit apartment complex here. Earlier this year, Red Tail sold the site to FLT Equity, LLC. The ownership group shifted the project to affordable housing and locked in tax-credit financing.

This spring, architect David Glancey of Glancey, Rockwell & Associates wrote the city asking for an extension. “The delay in proceeding with construction has been the result of the ownership group transitioning the project to an affordable housing development and securing tax credit financing,” he wrote. “That process is now complete, and the project has obtained funding.”

In July, the Idaho Housing and Finance Association approved $11 million in tax-exempt multifamily housing revenue bonds for FLT Hillcrest Partners.

Six buildings and a clubhouse

Plans call for six three-story apartment buildings plus a clubhouse. The mix is 36 one-bedroom and 72 two-bedroom homes — 108 units and about 180 bedrooms.

During the initial application phase, Glancey described the design as modest. The approach was to create a residential enclave protected from public streets on two sides by the steep hillside, while keeping convenient access and connectivity with the adjacent commercial center and surrounding neighborhoods. Using the established commercial center, the project aims for walkability to shopping, restaurants, entertainment, and public transportation.

Landscaping, a low wrought-iron fence, and security gates at the drive entrances are meant to draw a clear line between the homes and the large commercial parking lot next door.

Earlier plans that did not stick

Several previous apartment ideas for the pad, including a 2015 effort approved by the city, never broke ground. In 2020, the City of Boise considered buying the land for $2.475 million from Red Tail in hopes of building affordable housing through its land trust. That deal did not go through. BoiseDev reported in 2021 that the idea fell through over site requirements and issues with the owner of the neighboring Hillcrest Shopping Center.

With financing in place and crews on site, the long-empty pad is finally moving from drawings to construction. Architectural renderings from Glancey, Rockwell & Associates show the planned apartment buildings at Overland and Phillipi.

Project quick facts

• Name: Hillcrest Apartments
• Location: Phillipi Street & Overland Road, Boise (Hillcrest Shopping Center site)
• Site: about 4.13 acres; former Fred Meyer pad vacant since ~2009
• Developer: FLT Equity / FLT Hillcrest Partners (site sold by Red Tail Acquisitions)
• Homes: 108 units (36 one-bedroom, 72 two-bedroom); ~180 bedrooms
• Buildings: six three-story apartment buildings plus clubhouse
• Financing: $11M IHFA tax-exempt multifamily housing revenue bonds (July)
• Design: Glancey, Rockwell & Associates
• Status: construction underway (reported Sept. 22, 2026)
• Sources: BoiseDev, Idaho Housing and Finance Association

For more Boise housing and project news, browse Treasure Idaho news and the Boise city guide.